Like Clockwork, The World Burns
by RavenWriter89
Summary: Can't you feel it? We remind you of what the stars are like, what makes time burn.


_An experimental character study from _Human Nature/Family of Blood_, but from a rather different perspective._

* * *

We are closed off, caged, senseless and blind. The only way we see is through dreams, when the barricade is at the weakest. We see things from your world, and you remember things from ours. When conscious, only sharp sensations break through. Pain! Pain in your back, legs, head. Pain which is soon soothed. Pain is the only thing to break the monotony.

Then the mind comes, the slightly psychic one. It belongs to a boy. Yes, he can be our pathway to the outside. We need to learn, to watch, to hide, and we can use him. Offer to protect him and he will protect us. Our elation causes chaos, and a multitude of voices all shout at once.

_Time Lord._

We can't even recall whose voice spoke, we carry so many.

_Timothy, hide us._

Our dominant voice rises to speak to the boy.

_The secret lies within. I'm trapped. I'm caged. Inside the cold, in the dark, waiting. Always waiting._

Other voices join in, demanding to be heard after so much silence.

_Reach out, boy. Reach out._

We're trying so hard, we let things slip by. Memories of rage and power and fear.

_The power of a Time Lord. You are not alone. Keep me hidden._

_Burn with the light. Burn and turn!_

Waiting.

The boy's timeline is so strong. In this era before the storm breaks, his shines clear through it all. We watch it, and in turn he sees his own future. His mind is more adaptable than we thought.

Voices and memories mingle and bleed through.

_The darkness is coming._

We attune to the boy's mind and begin to sense things without him noticing. He sees little events, but we know what to look for. We see him and we have to warn the boy.

_Keep me away from the false and empty man._

_The last of the Time Lords, the last of that wise and ancient race._

We are safe, and then you break through to us. Pain again, pain and shock. It's so sudden that we actually get a brief glance of the world through you. The girl, Martha, is standing before you, shouting. TARDIS, she says. It won't work. She fades from our presence.

We must keep the boy safe, make him follow her. She knows about the enemy and she'll watch them more closely than he will. Our memories of Martha are still strong and she bleeds through to the boy. Follow her, help her, keep us safe.

Danger! Panic! All around is fear, and yours is the strongest. They've found you. We can feel your fear. Your life is in danger and so is ours. Do something, distract them! The boy!

_Time Lord._

We can feel the enemy, all four of them, gathered here and hungry. Run, boy, run! He can't let them find us.

"Don't touch me! You're as bad as them."

Not the first time we've been referred to as a monster. Trust us, boy, it's the only way.

_The time is not right, not yet. Not while the Family is abroad. Danger!_

Run, hide, safety. The Family is near, too near. Sensations from outside bleed through.

"Latimer, you filthy coward!"

"Oh, yes, sir, every time."

We're starting to rub off on the boy. Coward, every time. Our memories are imprinting on his.

He's speaking to us now, asking for help. But the enemy is right here, run! Why can't he sense it?

"What do I do?"

_Beware!_

"Beware of what?"

_Her!_

Prepare the memory, fresh and raw. Use it as a weapon. Warn the enemy what we are like in battle. The fury, the coldness, the grief, pour it into her and make her fear us! Draw them away, draw them out.

_Lord of Time._

Run, now. Truly this is the time. We'll guide him, lead him to you. So close, getting stronger. There! Other minds here as well, all fear, all desperation. Martha's here. You are here. Touch it, feel the connection, come on!

"Because I've seen him. He's like fire and ice and rage. He's like the night and the storm and the heart of the sun. He's ancient and forever. He burns at the centre of time, and he can see the turn of the universe. And he's wonderful."

Yes, bring us together; we have been split for too long.

_Closer._

"Like he's asleep. Waiting to waken."

Good, yes, so close. Open it, release us, we need to wake, we need to be whole. Only we can stop this! Bleed through, make us see!

"Oh, low level telepathic field, you were born with it. Just an extra synaptic engramy causing..."

The bleeding works both ways. We can feel the fear and emotion and hormones. It feels wonderful. We can understand.

"I've only just met him, it wasn't even that long ago, but... He is everything. He is just everything to me, and he doesn't even look at me, but I don't care. 'Cause I love him to bits."

Can't you feel it? We remind you of what the stars are like, what makes time burn. We feel the resistance but we have to build the connection stronger.

You can stay and look at what can (will) happen. We can't help letting the timeline slip through at this range. We show you what may be if only you stay. But this is what you will lose if you stay! Even if it's just possibilities, you will still lose it. You must fight the darkness, if only for a possibility that may never exist.

Relief. Our prison finally opened by the right hands. Freedom. No longer we or you, it's I. I feel the split fusing together again. The pain of organs being rearranged, shifting, growing. A second heart bursts into existence. My mind galvanizes and burns. The last of the human hormones and neurotransmitters are cleansed from my body. _My_ body, at last.

Run to the door, past Martha, past Timothy, don't look back. Keep running. Run away from the grief and into the rage.


End file.
